The wealthy and spoiled Vanessa Chamberlain arrived in Springfield in June 1980 with her father Henry, a member of the Spaulding board. Vanessa had once been engaged to attorney Ross Marler back in Chicago, but dumped him to marry a rich bore who could bail out her father's failing company. Now divorced, Vanessa decided to go after her true love, Ross. Unfortunately, Ross rejected Vanessa's overtures, idespite her showing up at his door in nothing but a fur coat and high heels. However, she soon wore him down and they'd end up making love. In addition, Vanessa shamelessly flirted with the very married Alan Spaulding and Ben McFarren. In the meantime, Ross was hoping to get the attentions of the wealthy Amanda Wexler and used Vanessa to break up Amanda and Ben. Upon learning that Ben had rejected Vanessa's advances, Ross told a vindictive Vanessa that Amanda had bankrolled Ben's contract with Carter Bowden's art gallery. As Ross suspected, Vanessa told Ben who exploded and left Amanda. Late that year, Vanessa became acquainted with Andy Norris who had returned to his hometown of Springfield. However, Vanessa knew a secret--he was married to her old friend, Trish Lewis! Apparently Andy had married the wealthy Ms. Lewis in Tulsa and then left her when her family disowned her. He later beat her when she showed up at his doorstep while he was with another woman. Andy informed Vanessa that Trish was one of the biggest mistakes of his life and because his family didn't know of their marriage, he begged Vanessa not to tell them about it. Vanessa promised to keep his secret and told Andy that he owed her. ater, after an argument with Ross, Vanessa hooked up with Andy and they made love. Andy, though, would end up hooking up with Nurse Katie Parker. In the meantime, in 1981, Ross began dating Eve McFarren, Ben's ex-wife. Vanessa did not like this and when someone began stalking Eve and sent her a dead mouse, Ross falsely suspected Vanessa.

In the meantime, Vanessa tried everything within her power to woo Ross over, and was hurt when he announced he'd rather be with Eve. Distraught over his rejection, she grabbed a bottle of sleeping pills to prove to Ross just how much she loved him. Hoping to make Ross feel guilty about her suicide attempt, Vanessa wrote him a note saying that, although her life would be empty without him, she was backing off and wished him the best with Eve. Before swallowing the pills, she phoned Ross to make sure he was home. When he answered, she quickly hung up. Right after, Eve phoned Ross, and Ross, thinking it was Vanessa playing games, took the phone off the hook. After she swallowed all of her sleeping pills with liquor, Vanessa called Ross' apartment but got a busy signal. Unable to reach Ross, she phoned Henry, but by the time he answered, she had already passed out on the floor! Worried because Vanessa's phone had been busy for over an hour, Henry went to Vanessa's and was shocked to find his daughter sprawled on the rug, and an empty liquor glass beside her! Vanessa was rushed to Cedars and had her stomach pumped. Although the contents of Vanessa's stomach had been emptied, her doctors were worried she might not make it, as her pulse wais very faint. Vanessa's doctor, Ed Bauer, told Henry that Vanessa, who'd gone into cardiac arrest, was in extremely critical condition and was being moved to intensive care, where she could be monitored. Fortunately, Vanessa's blood pressure finally stabilized and she made a full recovery. At Cedars, Vanessa would become attracted to the newly divorced Dr. Bauer.

Later, when Vanessa overheard Ed's brother, Mike, mention that Alan was having an affair, she hired slimy detective Joe Bradley to find out who the woman was since she wanted information to hold over Alan's head. Joe discovered that the woman was Rita Bauer, Ed's wife. Vanessa told her father, Henry, and they decided to blackmail Alan into buying Jocelyn Electronics, which had promised a kick-back of $2,000,000 to Henry and Vanessa. In the midst of this, a devious Spaulding employee named Diane Ballard began blackmailing people. She threatened Henry with the knowledge that he had an illegitimate son if he didn't get H.B. Lewis to make a deal with Spaulding. She also went after Vanessa with the knowledge that she had paid Joe Bradley to steal Rita's San Francisco address. Later, Vanessa went to Diane's and found her dead body. As a result, she, Henry, Ross and many others became suspects. (The killer turned out to Ross's fiancée, Carrie Todd) Vanessa told Alan that she'd keep quiet about his affair with Rita if Alan told her where Rita was so Ed's divorce could go through. When that ploy didn't work, Vanessa asked Joe Bradley to get the number for her. Joe broke into Alan's room at the club and found the letter Rita wrote to him before she left town.. Weeks later, Ed was shocked when he discovered in Joe's notes that it was Vanessa who hired Joe to break into Alan's room at the club and get the information he had on Rita. Now Ed knew that it was Vanessa who sent him the letter Rita wrote to Alan before she left town, as well as her address in San Francisco. When Ed confronted Vanessa, she explained why she did it. Ed considered it dishonest and that she was manipulating him so he broke it off with Vanessa. Afterwards Vanessa left town for a month or so.

Vanessa returned to Springfield at the end of January 1982 from her trip to San Francisco telling Henry that she fell madly in love with her school chum Blanche's former boyfriend, Mark Evans. She reported that she was over Ed completely and was the happiest woman in the world now, with hopes for the future again. Vanessa was delighted when she learned that Mark had been hired to handle the foreign markets for Spaulding Enterprises. When Vanessa went behind Mark's back at work, he ordered her to stop her tricks - he wouldn't tolerate dishonesty in their relationship. Vanessa promised to stop - but of course, she couldn't stop herself and Mark broke up with her.

Vanessa next went after blue collar worker Tony Reardon after they spent a wild weekend together in Chicago. Vanessa had arranged for Tony to take a vacation and stay in the guesthouse of the Chamberlain mansion in Chicago. Soon after Tony arrived, Vanessa wasted no time joining him. However, it didn't take long for Tony to realize that he had made a mistake and he decided to cool things down. But Vanessa had other plans. She phoned her private detective, Bart Nielsen, and asked him to follow Tony and report back to her on all his activities. Later, Vanessa was informed by her detective that Hillary Bauer spent the night at Tony's, so she planted a type-written note on Derek's desk telling him WHERE Hillary spent last night, knowing full well that he'd take quick action. Tony assumed that his nosy sister Nola had written the letter and blamed her. Derek and Hillary broke up and Tony and Vanessa parted ways, with him literally dumping her into a dumpster!

Meanwhile, on day Later, Vanessa went to the carriage house to help Ross pack up Carrie's things – since she moved to Europe for treatment and decided to divorce Ross. Going through Carrie's old wallet, Vanessa found a note revealing that Henry had an illegitimate son! Confronted, Henry was forced to confess all to Vanessa. Vanessa was devastated to learn she had a brother and never knew him. At the same time, Vanessa and Henry were involved in some intrigue at Spaulding. The Chamberlains wanted to vote Amanda Spaulding in as president of the company. The only one stopping them was a stockholder named Quint McCord who refused to give Vanessa his proxy so that Alan could be ousted. Meanwhile, Vanessa went to Europe to snoop for information about her brother, Sean Ryan. She found an old picture of Sean Ryan and realized that Sean and Quint were one and the same! Vanessa confronted Quint and promised to keep quiet if he gave her his proxy. But Quint did some digging of his own and discovered a kickback deal Henry and Vanessa made with Jocelyn Electronics. He blackmailed Vanessa into getting his proxy back. In 1983, Vanessa kept digging for more information on her new brother while Quint told Henry that he wouldn't tell anyone about the shady deal with Jocelyn Electronics if they returned the $2, 000,000. Vanessa was furious and told Quint to keep quiet or she would turn him into the police since he was wanted in connection with the death of Professor Renfield.

Vanessa altered the Jocelyn document and took Henry's name off, leaving just her name. She put it on Alan's desk. Alan confronted Henry. Since only Vanessa and Quint knew of the deal, Henry believed that Quint gave Alan the document. Quint denied it and he went to Vanessa who told Quint that she fixed it so Quint would be blamed for setting up Vanessa. He was getting too close to Henry. She wanted Quint out of her "daddy's" life. Quint called her bluff and told her he didn't care if she told everyone of his true identity. Vanessa gave in and confessed to Alan. Henry tried to take part of the blame but Alan didn't believe him and Alan forced Vanessa to pay back the money and resign from Spaulding. Vanessa vowed to destroy Quint but Quint was in a car accident and almost died. Vanessa began to care about her brother. Later, Quint decided to go on a dig to Tanquir. Soon the news came that there was a cave-in and Quint was trapped. Nola Reardon, who knew the truth about Quint, went to Henry because she thought that he could help because he had contacts in Tanquir. Vanessa tried to stop "daddy" but to no avail as Nola blurted out that Henry must help as Quint was his son! Quint was rescued and father and son reunited.

Then Vanessa found herself charmed by Billy Lewis, the rich and down-home son of rich Oklahoma oilman, Harlan Billy "H.B." Lewis. Although, Vanessa was initially repelled by the cowboy wanna-be whom she met months earlier at Nola & Quint's engagement party, she later fell for his charms and when Billy was almost killed in an explosion of a bomb put in his car, set by the murderous Eli Sims, Vanessa realized that she truly loved Billy. Though Billy and Vanessa got engaged, Billy had competition in the form of Alan who tried to break up the couple by bringing Billy's ex-wife, Reva Shayne to town. Though Reva tried to claim that they were not legally divorced and demanded $ 5 million for a divorce, the divorce decree was found. By this time, Vanessa was getting tired of waiting for Billy. Though she hired a surfer named Lance as her secretary only to make Billy jealous, Billy was still too busy to devote time to Vanessa, and she found herself falling prey to Alan's charms. Determined to marry the woman he loved, Billy threw her over his shoulder in front of everyone at a gala in February 1984 and stated that no one would leave until she was his wife! Billy and Vanessa got married on the spot! Soon after, Vanessa gave birth to a son, Little Billy [Bill]. Unfortunately, the marriage would come under strain. Obsessing over her new baby, Vanessa started taking tranquilizers and soon became addicted. One day in February 1985, a dazed Vanessa started to drive with her car. Though Billy followed to stop her, Vanessa ran over a pregnant Reva and she lost her baby. It was then that Vanessa realized she had a problem. Since Reva didn't recognize the driver, Billy kept quiet to protect Vanessa. Although Kyle Sampson, who had rescued Reva, finally exposed Billy and Vanessa, Reva later forgave Vanessa. Not long after, Billy became addicted to gambling after Kyle stole Lewis Oil from him and though Vanessa was angry, she supported him.

In 1986, Vanessa visited her "aunt" Grace Cummings helped Vanessa with a problem years earlier. When Vanessa was seventeen, she became pregnant during her affair with Ross but kept quiet. During that summer, she told Henry she was going to Europe but went to see Grace. With Grace by her side, Vanessa gave birth to a daughter and gave her up for adoption. In order to forget the pain of having given up her daughter, Vanessa had taken to becoming a party girl, drinking, carousing, and carrying on with men. Now Grace told Vanessa that she may know her daughter's whereabouts and gave her an address in Springfield. Vanessa revealed the truth to Ross and with Ross's help, Vanessa went searching for her daughter. Though they initially believed that Calla's daughter, Jessie Matthews, was their daughter, Calla found out that their daughter was actually orphan Dinah Morgan but kept quiet for fear of losing Ross to Vanessa. Meanwhile, Dinah was kidnapped by her foster circus family, Joe and Shelley, who demanded money from Vanessa when they learned that the wealthy Vanessa was Dinah's mother. When Vanessa arrived with the money at Stony Lake, Joe and Shelley also kidnapped her but Ross and the police rescued Dinah and Vanessa. Though Dinah bonded with both with Ross and Henry she couldn't forgive Vanessa for a long time for abandoning her. Though reunited with her daughter, Vanessa lost Billy in the process when he divorced her because of Dinah. Single again, in 1987, Vanessa resumed her relationship with Ross who broke it off once he realized she was more interested in Alan. Though she then resumed her relationship with the conniving Alan, and almost married him, when she discovered that he was in love with Reva, she broke off the engagement. Then Billy, who again had alcohol problems, sent her a letter pleading for her to come and help him in Venezuela. So Vanessa packed up her things and left Springfield for Venezuela.

In June 1989, Vanessa returned to town and started working at Spaulding again. Not long after, Billy returned and they grew closer again. Soon both Lewis Oil and Spaulding competed for a deal with a man named Al Radi. When Alex, Roger, Vanessa and Billy went to Saudi Arabia to woo the client, Vanessa seduced Billy who missed his business meeting and as a result, Spaulding got the deal. Angry, since he incorrectly thought she set him up, Billy broke up with Vanessa. In early 1990, when Henry lost his Spaulding stock to Roger in poker games, he attempted suicide by hanging himself up but luckily, Vanessa and Billy saved him and Vanessa vowed revenge on Roger. So she spied at Spaulding for Lewis Oil but Roger caught on and she was fired. Vanessa got back at Roger when she, along with Henry and Hampton Speakes, helped Billy to get the Waterview Towers from Roger. Vanessa and Billy reunited in the process and planned to remarry. After Reva was presumed dead after a car accident in Florida, Billy began drinking again and began an affair with Nadine Cooper. He left Vanessa standing at the altar because he was in bed with Nadine. When Vanessa learned about that, she left Billy and he married Nadine in January 1991.

At the same time, when Josh left Springfield, he named Vanessa as his successor at Lewis Oil instead of Billy. Though Vanessa helped Billy to get her seat at Lewis and seduced him, Billy again chose Nadine over Vanessa. Meanwhile, Roger was fired by Alex as Spaulding president and as a result, a new president was needed. Alan-Michael nominated himself for this position but Alex wasn't sure due to his lack of business experience. So she ordered a contest between him and Vanessa Chamberlain. At the same time, Alan-Michael hired Blake as his assistant and Blake schemed to help Alan-Michael to win. Alan-Michael tried to win the spot by blackmailing Nadine Cooper to spy on the Lewises. Vanessa discovered Alan-Michael and Blake's schemes and used it to her own advantage and finally became president. That same year, Vanessa would be the first woman to be named Springfield's "Man of the Year."

In 1992, as president of Spaulding, Vanessa started going on a series of business dinners to snare an important client, Jack Kiley. After she shared a kiss with Kiley, he tried to take their relationship to another level and tried to rape her. Luckily, Fletcher Reade came to her rescue. Though both Fletcher and Holly Lindsey tried to convince her to bring charges against Kiley, Vanessa was wary because she didn't want her name in the newspapers. Though she agreed to press charges as long as her name was kept out of the papers, Nadine spitefully leaked the information when she learned of Vanessa as the victim. During the course of the trial, Jack painted himself as an innocent victim and the trial ended in a hung jury. After the trial, Kiley celebrated his victory in the Blue Moon, he got drunk and Billy assaulted him and threatened to kill him if he wouldn't confess the truth. So Kiley broke down and confessed to the attempted rape Vanessa. Hamp and Dylan witnessed Billy's move and Hamp got Kiley's confession on video tape. Although Kiley and his lawyer Rebecca Nash attempted to charge Billy for assault, Days later, Billy arranged for Vanessa's friends and Jack and Mrs. Kiley and Kiley's lawyer, Rebecca Nash, to meet at the Blue Moon and he publicly showed the video tape. Vanessa was vindicated and Rebecca arranged a deal for Kiley: he would pay some money, would be let out on probation and had to go to a therapy.

Through out all of this, Vanessa and Fletcher were growing closer and made plans to marry. However, Fletcher called it off when it became apparent that she still loved Billy. Not long after, in May 1993, Vanessa found out that Nadine's newborn son with Billy was actually the son of Bridget Reardon. After getting Bridget to admit the truth, she then forced Nadine to tell Billy who divorced her. Vanessa and Billy then reunited and married again, planning to raise Peter as their own. Unfortunately, the marriage was destroyed, this time by Billy's alcoholism, which ultimately led to his conviction of the attempted murder of Roger in February 1994. Vanessa, unable to handle the situation, divorced him and fought for custody of Peter in a long battle against Bridget. Finally both agreed to raise Peter together by sharing custody.

Depressed, Vanessa decided that she needed to get away for a little while and went to her childhood vacation spot in hopes of clearing her mind. When Vanessa got involved in a rowdy poker game with some locals, it took a turn for the worst but luckily a mysterious man named Matt saved her. When Matt stowed away on a sailboat Vanessa had rented she got very upset, but during a storm the boat capsized and they had to swim to a nearby island. There, Vanessa opened up to him about Billy and her past and soon they made love in a cave. The next morning Josh arrived with a rescue helicopter, and Vanessa left without Matt. Intrigued by this beautiful older woman, Matt hitched a ride and headed to Springfield. When the truck arrived at the Lewis Warehouse it was hijacked, with Matt witnessing the whole thing. Matt then went to the boardinghouse where a he reunited a surprised Bridget, who was his sister! Bridget threw a dinner party to introduce Matt and Vanessa, but of course, they already knew each other. Matt wanted to resume their relationship but Vanessa was worried about how it would affect her custody arrangement with Bridget. A hurt Matt thought that Vanessa was ashamed of him.

Not knowing about the connection between Matt and Vanessa, Dylan hired Matt to do some work at Vanessa's house and, eventually Matt and Vanessa could not resist each other any longer and began a secret affair. When Frank discovered that Matt was wanted for car theft, a suspicious Dylan thought he might have had something to do with the hijacked Lewis truck. Matt tried to explain that he had been set up, but when the driver recognized Matt as the hitchhiker he had picked up, Matt looked really guilty but when a scrimshaw key chain was found at the crime site, Matt did not want anyone to know that Vanessa had given it to him so he destroyed the receipt. Because Matt would not tell why he destroyed the evidence, everyone believed that he was guilty so Matt left town to prove his innocence. Soon the real hijackers were revealed and Matt was cleared and returned to Springfield. Vanessa and Matt were reunited. Although Vanessa was in love with Matt, she wasn't ready to go public with their relationship yet. Matt got upset because Vanessa wouldn't acknowledge their relationship and decided to leave town.

However, when Vanessa feared that Matt died in the 5th Street fire in January 1995, she was so ecstatic at seeing him that she kissed him in the middle of the street for all to see! Soon after, Dinah returned to Springfield but she was now sophisticated and spoiled from living in Europe. Although Ross and Vanessa thought she was on break from school, they were shocked to discover that she'd actually dropped out. While staying at Vanessa's, Dinah alienated herself from Matt by flirting with him. Soon, Vanessa learned of Dinah's money woes and since Dinah's flirtatious ways were grating on Matt, she suggested that Dinah live with Ross and Blake. As Dinah continued to annoy Blake with her smoking and general selfishness, she had her parents, especially Ross, wrapped around her little finger. Meanwhile, Dinah had found a perfect way to get money--she'd arrange for Viktor to kidnap her and they'd split the ransom money. Unfortunately for Dinah, Viktor double crossed her and left her tied up while he decided to ask for more money which he'd keep for himself. Not long after, the family received Viktor's ransom demand and Matt convinced everyone, including Det. Patrick Cutter and Frank Cooper, to have him take the money to the location Viktor had mentioned. Luckily Matt was able to rescue Dinah and the pair returned home safely. Rescued, Dinah was resentful when Ross and Vanessa read her the riot act about setting up her own kidnapping. Angry at her parents, Dinah lashed out by sleeping with Roger. Despite all the troubles with Dinah, Vanessa and Matt's relationship remained solid and they married later that year. Unfortunately, the wedding ended in a disaster thanks Bill accidentally ruined Vanessa's wedding dress and a case of food poisoning.

When Amanda Spaulding tried to seduce Matt in 1996, it became obvious there was a connection between them. In time that connection was revealed--Matt had worked for Amanda's escort service in California. When Vanessa found out she was devastated, but after Henry died, she turned to Matt for support. Soon after, Vanessa began suffering from dizzy spills and was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease. Nola learned of Vanessa's illness and was supportive, and although she didn't think it was right, she agreed to keep Vanessa's illness a secret. Vanessa made arrangements for her children's future, and begged Matt to improve his relationship with Bill and contemplated suicide. After suffering from a dizzy spell and a moment of blindness, while driving, Vanessa crashed her car. Though she was unhurt, she decided that this was the perfect opportunity to free her family from the burden she feared her illness would soon cause and she asked Zachary to help her fake her death and gave him her wedding ring. He placed the ring in her car, and made arrangements for Vanessa to stay in a convent/hospital in Switzerland where research was being done on her disease. Matt, in the meantime, refused to believe that Vanessa was dead.

In early 1997, Vanessa was shocked to hear a familiar voice at the convent--Roger's! Vanessa insisted Roger tell no one because she didn't want her family to see her like this. Roger said he would keep her secret if she would help him. Roger wanted to know why Alan always deferred to Alex. Since she and her father were privy to the inner workings of Spaulding, he figured she knew what Alex had over Alan to keep him in line. Vanessa didn't want to help him. She told him she didn't want to take anybody's side. Roger pointed out that he would keep her secret if she told him. Vanessa told Roger that before her father died, Alex had stolen some files as an insurance policy. Her father told her that whoever controlled those files would have the leverage to bring the Spaulding family to their knees. Months later, Vanessa slowly began to recover thanks to a revolutionary treatment. As a result of the medication, she slowly started to regain her vision and mobility and soon her disease went into remission. As the months went by, Vanessa continued to improve with help from her new Physical Therapist, Michael Burke, who helped her not only to recover physically but also emotionally. Michael gave Vanessa a lap top computer in hopes of giving her something to take up her time. Under the assumed name "Tess" she met someone named "Robert" in the poetry chat room. "Robert" turned out to be Matt. Tess and Robert hit it off well and found themselves talking online a lot. But one day Vanessa got upset and before she could log off spoke the words "I miss you Matt"-- words that showed up on Matt's computer!

Matt knew instantly he had been talking to Vanessa, but it was too late since she was logged off. As Matt and Dinah finally located the convent in Switzerland, Vanessa had gone back to Springfield with Michael to see Bill graduate. While in town, Vanessa witnessed a close moment between Matt and Dinah and got the impression that they were in love, so she decided not to reveal herself. Soon Matt caught up with Michael but Vanessa had taken off shortly before that because she felt Michael was beginning to get feelings for her other then friendship. Michael and Matt finally got things worked out between the two of them and Michael joined the search for Vanessa. Soon Matt decided that if he finished their dream house Vanessa would come home. So, with help from Springfield's other residents, Matt soon finished the house. They had a housewarming party but Vanessa never showed. But that night after everyone left, Matt was standing in the house when Vanessa finally returned home. Soon after, Vanessa begun experiencing dizzy spells and Matt had to struggle with his feelings of resentment towards Vanessa for faking her own death.

Matt soon forgave Vanessa but when he discovered she was still taking her medication he became worried and made her go to the doctor for fear of the disease coming back. Vanessa reluctantly went to the doctor. After running some tests they were informed that Vanessa's disease had not returned: she was pregnant. Vanessa's doctors advised her not to carry the baby to term because her disease could come out of remission. After hearing the news, Matt became extremely worried about losing Vanessa and encouraged her to have an abortion but Vanessa was determined to carry her baby to term. However, Matt was adamant that Vanessa should not risk her life for her child's and almost convinced Vanessa as well. At Cedars to terminate her pregnancy, Vanessa had a change of heart, and to her surprise, so did Matt when he rushed to Cedars to stop her. Although Matt and Vanessa were now eagerly anticipated their baby's birth, Dinah was less than thrilled since she was worried about her mother's life.

Dinah also resented the pregnancy, since this would be another baby that Vanessa would keep. Fearing she might die, Vanessa tried to help Dinah by asking her lover, Hart Jessup to stay with her and take care of her. Although he initially agreed, Hart soon realized that he didn't love Dinah at all and couldn't in good conscience stay with her. Unfortunately, Vanessa's already fragile relationship with Dinah started to deteriorate quickly. Afraid of Dinah's obsession with Hart, Vanessa tried to counsel Dinah only to be met with anger and resentment. In early 1998, Vanessa and Matt heard devastating news--the pregnancy was causing complications and threatening to cause her disease to return. Although the doctors suggested terminating the pregnancy by performing a C-Section, to Matt's horror, Vanessa refused to go through with the C-section, willing to let herself die and the child live. Unwilling to let Vanessa die, Matt decided to take her to court to force her to have the procedure, rationalizing that he'd rather have her hate him and still be alive. Enraged that Matt was taking her decision way from her, Vanessa vowed to fight him. Fortunately, the problem became moot when Vanessa went into premature labor and gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Maureen, whom she named after her late best friend, Maureen Bauer. Vanessa then fell in coma and had a vision of the deceased Maureen who convinced her to hold onto her life since her family needed her. While no one believed Vanessa would survive, she awoke and recovered. When her daughter, Maureen, needed a kidney, Holly saved her by donating a part of her kidney.

Not long after, Vanessa returned to Spaulding and found herself at odds with another employee named Vicky Brandon. Unbeknownst to Vanessa, Vicky was conducting research into the illegal cloning that was being performed by Michael. When Michel killed himself by destroying his lab (and his work) in an explosion, in order to prevent the Spauldings from learning his secrets, Vanessa blamed Vicky and exposed her as Brandon Spaulding's granddaughter, Vicky Spaulding! Although Alan, not happy with the prospect of Vicky trying to get her hands on the Spaulding money, threatened to fire Vanessa, Vanessa told him that if he did, she'd unleash the worst publicity he'd ever seen. Meanwhile, Vicky used Beth Raines to cause problems between Matt and Vanessa, hoping that Vanessa would retire for the good of her family. Although, her plan didn't succeed, Beth's interest in Matt unnerved Vanessa and she warned Beth to stay away from Matt. However, Matt himself liked Beth and they continued their friendship.

Vanessa and Matt's relationship started to become strained not only because of Vanessa's insecurity about Beth but also because of Dinah, who was growing increasingly obsessed over Hart, even going as far as to get pregnant with another's man's child! Although Vanessa pleaded with Dinah to get professional help, Dinah maintained that all she needed was Hart. In 1999, Beth's closeness with Matt continued to upset Vanessa, who felt old in comparison and was even considered plastic surgery. Finally, Beth had enough and decided that if Vanessa wanted to worry about Beth coming onto her husband, then she'd give her something to really worry about and with that she kissed Matt. Meanwhile, an unstable Dinah went after Cassie Layne (her rival for Hart's affections) with a gun and accidentally shot and killed Hart instead! Feeling guilty that her abandonment of Dinah had caused her insecurities, and afraid that Dinah would kill herself if imprisoned, Vanessa sent her to a convent in Europe in order to avoid prosecution.

Though the police and Matt demanded that she reveal Dinah's whereabouts, Vanessa refused and while she was charged with harboring a fugitive, Billy convinced the police to release her and Ross was able to clear her of all charges. Meanwhile Beth's willingness to protect Vanessa, when she neglected to mention that she saw Vanessa drive off with Dinah, touched Matt and after confiding in Beth that his marriage was probably over (since he disagreed with Vanessa's decision to protect Dinah), he kissed her. Afterwards, distraught when he believed that Vanessa stood him up at Towers, Matt started drinking and flirting with a woman at the Towers bar and almost got in a fight with the woman's date before he was rescued by Beth. As they were leaving though, they were spotted by Vanessa, who was angry that Matt stood her up. Realizing that there was a mix-up, Beth tried to set the record straight but didn't when Vanessa suddenly lashed out at her. Although, Beth and Matt almost got passionate when she took him home, she couldn't go through with it and told him that there must have been a time mix-up; Vanessa didn't mean to stand him up. With that revelation, Matt went off to fix his marriage. Unfortunately, at this point, Vanessa was convinced her marriage was over and made plans to leave. Desperate to locate to Vanessa, whom he finally learned was staying at the Bauer cabin, Matt rushed off to find her and slipped on ice at the cabin. Luckily for Matt, Vanessa found him and saved him. Now reunited with Matt, Vanessa decided to go to the police after all with Dinah's whereabouts, however, by this point, Dinah had disappeared!

Not long after, Vanessa found herself very concerned about Bill. Unnerved to learn he was dating Pilar Santos, the daughter of a mafia family, she was even more concerned to learn that he had been offered a job at SanCorp, a supposedly legitimate company owned by the family.. Although Vanessa tried to get Bill out of the Santos family by offering him a job at Spaulding's offices in Europe, Bill declined the offer since he knew Vanessa was just trying to get him away from Pilar. Unfortunately, Vanessa's concerns about SanCorp were validated when Bill was accused of illegal computer hacking. Although Bill was innocent since he'd been set up by the unscrupulous Ben Warren, there was no way to prove it. Fortunately, Ross was able to arrange a plea bargain and Bill was released. Unfortunately, the stress of Bill's problems caused a reoccurrence of Vanessa's illness. Angry with Ben for trying to ruin Bill's life, she went to confront Ben only to find him bleeding from a gunshot wound. Holding the gun, Vanessa was startled by Ben and the gun went off. Speeding away from the scene, Vanessa got in an accident that left her in a coma. Unfortunately, Pilar's mother, Carmen Santos, Ben's original shooter, ended up earning Matt's trust. Knowing that Vanessa was the last one to see Ben, she gave Matt a lip balm for Vanessa. Matt even used this balm for Vanessa until he learned it was poisoned.

In 2000, Matt and Bill finally put the pieces together about where Vanessa was the night of the accident and realized that she may have shot Ben. Wanting to protect Vanessa, even at the expense of his cousin, Michelle, Matt spirited her away to a secluded cabin. There, Vanessa finally emerged from her coma, only to learn that Michelle Bauer was convicted for Ben's murder. Not willing to let Michelle take the rap for a crime she committed, she decided to go to the police. Luckily, the shooting was deemed an accident while Carmen was charged for Ben's murder. Following this, Vanessa's illness again went into remission. Later, Vanessa received the distressing news that the fugitive Dinah was pregnant. Anxious to help her daughter, she gave up her life in Springfield to help Dinah.

Vanessa returned to town briefly in June 2002 to attend Josh and Reva's third wedding. While in Springfield, she visited her old friend Ed and reminded him that he never found peace by drinking. At the wedding, Vanessa caught up with old friends and informed Ross that Dinah was doing no worse emotionally. Suspiciously, there was no word of her having had a baby. Later, in 2004, we would learn that not only had Dinah miscarried her baby, at the time of Vanessa's last visit, but Vanessa had no idea exactly where Dinah was.

In the spring of 2005, Vanessa heard disturbing news from Ross that Dinah (who had returned to town and been cleared of killing Hart) was continuing her obsessive behavior. Upon hearing that Dinah had become a surrogate mother to Cassie and her husband, Edmund, a deeply concerned Vanessa returned to Springfield and announced her intention to take Dinah back with her for the duration of her pregnancy. Although Dinah was against this, both Vanessa and Ross argued that it was best for everyone since they both feared that Dinah would be unable to handle the stress of having to give the baby back to Cassie and Edmund. Cassie wasn't about to let that happen and instituted a restraining order against them. Before leaving town, Vanessa then visited Bill, tipped off by Billy that Bill and Olivia's marriage was on the rocks. Concerned for Bill as well, Vanessa warned him to be careful since Olivia reminded him another career-driven, ambitious woman she once knew: herself. A few months later, Vanessa returned for another brief visit to support Bill, who was searching for Olivia. With Vanessa's guidance, Bill set off to let Olivia know that no matter what, she was not alone. That Christmas, Vanessa paid a visit to Dinah in Springfield--courtesy of A.C. Mallet. By this point, Dinah had lost the baby and finally resolved to change. Feeling bad for a lonely Dinah, Mallet arranged for Vanessa to fly down. Although initially hurt since she figured Vanessa only came because Mallet talked her into it, Vanessa assured her that she didn't need all that much convincing. The next day, Vanessa played Cupid and set up Dinah and Mallet to run into each other.

Vanessa returned to town in spring 2006 and warned Dinah, who'd been named interim CEO of Spaulding, not to trust Alan-Michael since she believed he wanted Dinah's job, just as he wanted Vanessa's years earlier. A few weeks later, Vanessa returned at Dinah's request so Dinah could announce that she and Mallet were moving in together. Although happy for the couple, Vanessa warned Dinah against moving things too fast and letting herself get hurt as she had in the past. Months later, Vanessa returned for a solemn occasion--Ross's funeral after he'd died in a plane crash. At the funeral, Vanessa spoke eloquently about her first love. Meanwhile, early that summer, Vanessa returned periodically to help plan Dinah's wedding to Mallet. At one point, Matt returned with her. Though Vanessa was convinced that Dinah had matured, Matt was extremely skeptical and was certain that the wedding would never happen. Unfortunately, Matt turned out to be right after all. When Dinah learned that Mallet had been conducting surveillance on her for the FBI, she became enraged and cancelled the wedding. Several weeks later, while Matt and Vanessa attended an "independence party' for the Dinah and Mallet (since they forgot to cancel the reception), it appeared as if the couple might reunite. However, Dinah suddenly left without explanation. Days later,. Vanessa shocked Dinah with the news that she, Matt and Maureen were moving to Springfield. Dinah was not happy to hear that, since she figured they were coming just to keep tabs on her.

Upon returning to town, Vanessa bought WSPR from Josh. She then offered Dinah her own TV show. The problem was the station didn't have enough timeslots for her show and Mallet's "The Law". By this point, Dinah and Mallet had gotten back together so Vanessa decided to have a little competition and have the viewers decide. However, in 2007, Mallet was so moved by a piece that Dinah did regarding the genesis of a bag of money that was found in the center of town that he withdrew from the contest. Several weeks later, Dinah casually asked her mom for a $100,000 loan, but Vanessa was forced to refuse since she and Matt weren't financially stable anymore.

In the meantime, Matt sought out investors for a new business venture. At the same time, he and Vanessa were displeased with the arrival of old friend of Dinah's: Cyrus Foley. Cyrus and Dinah's were partners in crime in Europe and Vanessa was instrumental in Cyrus getting arrested. Now released from a Spanish jail, Cyrus feigned forgiveness and told everyone that the wanted to reform and even asked to be a part of Matt's new business. Of course, neither Matt nor Vanessa believed Cyrus's claims of being a changed man. Weeks later, Vanessa and Matt happily celebrated as Dinah and Mallet finally married. Unfortunately, things while Dinah's life was on the upswing, the Reardon marriage would begin to unravel. The Springfield PD had been keeping Cyrus under surveillance and Mallet became suspicious when large sums of money were being transferred out of Vanessa's account. Startled, Vanessa gave Mallet permission to investigate. The loss of the money made Matt very nervous but he refused to discuss it; instead he just shut down. Weeks later, Matt was forced to admit to Vanessa when his main investor was demanding his money. Apparently, the investor was nothing more than a loan shark. Vanessa berated Matt for being stupid enough to do business with a criminal and when she asked why he couldn't come to her, Matt confessed that throughout their marriage he always felt second-best. Since she was always the one with all the power, this was his chance to prove himself. When Matt began beating himself up and savagely began kicking the furniture, Vanessa got him to settle down by assuring him that everything would be okay.

However, Matt had another secret—he not only dipped into Vanessa's money; he used Maureen's trust fund as collateral. Incensed, Vanessa threw Matt out and later packed up his things. Though Dinah tried to intervene, Vanessa refused to cave in. At the same time that Vanessa finally took Matt back, Mallet was approached by Griggs, his former boss and the loan shark who was after Matt. Too protect Matt, Mallet and Matt set it up to look like he shot Matt and dumped the body in the water. Matt and Vanessa were then to leave town.

Unfortunately, Matt was certain that one of Griggs's men saw him come out of the water and informed Dinah. Mallet and Dinah both went after Griggs and Dinah took a bullet meant for Mallet. As Dinah languished in a coma, Vanessa rebuffed Matt's concerned and told that taking him back was a huge mistake and she never wanted him to live with her again. When Vanessa refused to even talk to him, Matt announced that he was done apologizing and reiterated that everything he did he did out of love. Soon after, Dinah finally emerged from her coma. Unfortunately, her head injury left her confused and she continued having trouble with her memory. Though she tried to cover, however it became apparent that something was wrong when Dinah froze during a live television interview. Vanessa soon became concerned about whether or not she would have to fire Dinah. Meanwhile, Vanessa sent Matt divorce papers yet neglected to sign them. In the meantime, Vanessa informed Mallet that she had no choice but to fire Dinah and he insisted that he be the one to do it. If that weren't bad enough, Vanessa was depressed over her marital situation.

Luckily, her spirits were buoyed by Billy. During their time together, Vanessa couldn't help but note how much Billy had changed for the better. At the same time, Vanessa was disinherited to see Dinah hanging out with Matt and tried to warn Mallet since she felt that Matt was a bad influence on a vulnerable Dinah. Weeks later, Vanessa accepted Billy's invitation to a charity ball. Unfortunately, Matt, who'd been drinking, arrived and demanded to dance with Vanessa. When Billy stepped in, Matt started to cause a scene and called Billy a drunk and demanded that he not be allowed around his daughter. Things got worse later that day when Vanessa came across Mallet beating up Matt. Apparently, Mallet walked in on a shirtless Matt kissing Dinah.

Later, stressed out over the Dinah and Matt situation, Vanessa suggested to Billy that they visit Bill in Venezuela. Olivia and Dinah overheard and wanted to come as well. When Billy called Bill he was surprised to learn that his phone had been disconnected. Meanwhile, Dinah's caviler behavior was upsetting Vanessa. Though Vanessa tried to get Dinah to grow up and take responsibility for her actions, Dinah's attitude frustrated Vanessa so much that she almost hit her. The next day, Vanessa was horrified to learn that Dinah had taken Maureen out of school during an exam. Vanessa immediately called Mallet and a doctor. Concerned that Dinah was a danger to herself and others, Vanessa told Dinah and Mallet her intention to have Dinah placed under psychiatric care. Dinah went ballistic at the thought and suddenly grabbed Mallet's gun. She was soon subdued and dragged away, screaming that she would never forgive Vanessa or Mallet. Soon after, Vanessa and Matt informed Dinah that they reconciled.

In the meantime, Billy learned of some questionable deals Bill had been involved in. After failing to reach his son again, Billy had no choice but to fire him. Months later, Bill finally returned to town. Soon, Billy told Vanessa about Bill stealing a client from Lizzie and warned her that their son had changed. However, Vanessa simply dismissed it as him being competitive and trying to prove himself. However, it didn't take long to learn that Billy was right when, upon learning from Vanessa that Billy had returned to drinking, Bill outed Billy's problem to the press and then took over the company. Meanwhile, Billy finally decided to go to rehab to get help for his drinking Unfortunately, he decided to have one last hurrah. Driving drunk, he got involved in a car crash and Bill leaked to the police that it was a DUI. The day that Billy was forced to report to rehab, Vanessa asked Bill to come to the Cross Creek cabin for an intervention for Billy. However, it soon became apparent that it wasn't for Billy; it was for him. Though his family tried to convince him that he was being self-destructive, things took a disastrous turn when Dinah started defending Bill and criticizing everyone else. Soon the group began arguing which amused Bill. In the meantime, Dinah learned from Matt that he and Vanessa never reconciled—-it was all a lie for her benefit.

In 2008, Bill was caught in a fire that left him temporarily blind. Seeing how upset Billy was about what happened to Bill, Vanessa suggested that Bill's injury could be a blessing in disguise. Later, Vanessa talked Billy out of waging a vendetta by telling Billy that she needed him to be the strong one. Touched that she needed him, Billy gently kissed her. Meanwhile, Vanessa realized that Dinah was improving and offered her a job at the station. However, Dinah wasn't sure if she was up to par and turned it down. A few months later, Vanessa had a scare when someone starting sending harassing notes to the station and making threatening phone calls. Harley offered her services as private detective to flesh out the culprit but Vanessa refused since Cyrus was working for her. Though Harley tried to argue that Cyrus had changed, Vanessa didn't believe it. Vanessa took Harley up on her offer though when she received another harassing call. Not long after, Vanessa caught Cyrus breaking into her room and realized that it was all a ruse—Cyrus was stalking her in order to drum up business for Harley. Cyrus assured Vanessa that Harley had no knowledge of what he was doing. Vanessa believed him and sent him on his way before stopping payment on the check.Meanwhile, days later, Vanessa was surprised when Ava Peralta announced that she was carrying Bill's baby.Vanessa waas less then pleased since she knew that Bill had feelings for Lizzie.

At the same time, Dinah bought WSPR from Vanessa. In addition, she had successfully ousted Alan from Spaulding Enterprises and was living at his mansion.Vanessa wasn't impressed with this development either and warned her daughter that there could be repercussions. Vanessa was not just speaking of Alan—she also knew from personal experience that having it all financially didn't guarentee one a happy life. Afterwards, Bill successfully merged Lewis with Spaulding Enterprises. Neither Vanessa nor Billy could condone Bill's takeover and refused to attend the press conference where Bill announced the news. However, despite her disapproval, Vanessa supported Bill and Ava and when Bill announced to the press that they were getting married. That marriage was quickly annulled however by Bill. Later, Vanessa wound up in the middle when Bill disowned Dinah for giving money to Remy to allow him to leave town with Max. Vanessa defended Dinah to Bill who did let Dinah back into his life. Meanwhile, both Vanessa and Billy worried about Bill and his stubbornness at putting business above his obvious love for Lizzie. During one of their talks, Billy admitted to Vanessa that she was the light of his life. That same day, Bill surprised his parents by asking them to move into the Spaulding mansion with him now that both Lizzie and Alan were living there.

The pair agreed. At the mansion, Billy again expressed his interest in Vanessa and kissed her. However, Vanessa gently dismissed him. Weeks later, Dinah ranted to Vanessa that Bill was taking her for granted. When Dinah stated that he'd be sorry for that, Vanessa urged her daughter not to be vengeful. Weeks later, Dinah was on hand to support Bill when Lizzie ended up being kidnapped. After weeks of tirelessly working to get Lizzie back, Bill finally rescued her from the kidnappers. Unfortunately, during the rescue, there was a car crash and Bill was left in a coma. AS he remained unconscious, evidence came to light which suggested that he may have kidnapped Lizzie to ensure that the big business deal they were working on was his alone. Though Lizzie was adamant that Bill could not have done it, both Vanessa and Billy conceded that based on Bill's behavior over the past year, he could have done it. Later, Billy reminded Vanessa that although they doubted their son, they loved him more and he promised her that he would not let Bill go to jail. Finally, Bill woke up. Unfortunately, upon being questioned, Bill contradicted statements that he had already made to the police while Lizzie was missing. Though Bill was in danger of being arrested, he was cleared by year's end when all of the evidence against him was destroyed in a fire.

Though Bill was cleared in 2009, Vanessa still worried since the DA's office continued to regard him as the prime suspect. For her own part, Dinah seemed more at ease since Bill had been cleared. Several weeks later, Vanessa was shocked learn that Dinah knew the truth about Lizzie's kidnapping all along. Meanwhile, Vanessa continued to enjoy Billy's company. By summer, Bill and Lizzie were engaged and although Vanessa expected to help in the arrangements, Lizzie decided that she and Bill wanted to do it all themselves. Unfortunately, the pair put the wrong date on their invitations and no one showed up. Luckily, Dinah learned what had happened and saved the day by quickly arranging a surprise wedding for the pair in the park. Dinah's actions greatly impressed Vanessa and she told her daughter that she was proud. Later, when Vanessa learned of Dinah's engagement to Shayne, she happily presented Dinah with a horse-drawn carriage so they could plan the wedding in style. Sadly, things would end on tragic note. The night of their wedding, Dinah fled the country after confessing to Mallet that she'd killed a man she believed was going to harm Shayne's son, Henry. Deeply upset that Dinah let Reva stay in a jail for a crime that she committed, Shayne returned the wedding rings to Vanessa.

Soon after, Billy decided that he wanted to remarry Vanessa. When Billy made his intention known to Vanessa, she asked if he planned on asking her. However, Billy couldn't find the right way to propose and decided to surprise Vanessa with a wedding. Unfortunately, Vanessa objected to the idea. Making it clear that she wasn't rejecting him, Vanessa told Billy that she wanted to be wooed first. Billy accepted her challenge. After a few weeks of dating, Billy told Josh that he intended to propose to Vanessa after dating her for one year. That same day, a regretful Vanessa confided in Josh her wish that she had married Billy earlier. Thanks to Josh and Olivia, Vanessa found the engagement ring that Billy had been holding for her and accepted his proposal. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the pair decided to get married as soon as possible. With Reva serving as matron of honor, Billy and Vanessa married in a beautiful ceremony by the lake.